A successful Chandrayaan-3, they say, will take us a step closer in that quest.

 Once it lands and the dust settles, the six-wheeled rover will crawl out of its belly and roam around the rocks and craters on the Moon's surface, gathering crucial data and images to be sent to the lander, which will pass it on to the orbiter to send to Earth.

The rover's wheels have the Isro's logo and emblem embossed on them so that they leave imprints on the lunar soil during the Moon walk, an official told the BBC.

The landing date has been carefully selected to coincide with the start of a lunar day (a day on the Moon equals 28 days on Earth) because the batteries of the lander and the rover will need sunlight to be able to charge and function. Once night falls, they will discharge and stop working. It's not yet clear whether they will come back to life when the next lunar day starts.

The south pole of the Moon holds special promise in that search - the surface area that remains in permanent shadow there is huge, and scientists say it means there is a possibility of water in these areas.

India is not the only country with an eye on the Moon - there's a growing global interest in it, with many other missions headed to the lunar surface in the near future. And scientists say there is still much to understand about the Moon, which is often described as a gateway to deep space.